New direction for Index

A new team signifies a whole new direction for Index, according to exhibition director Lu Buchanan.

A successful formula that could do with a refresh was what Buchanan encountered when she joined the show in November. “I was brought in to assess it and work out how we should move it forward to keep it up with the times.

“My view is that it is a fabulous show but, as with anything, things need to evolve. My vision, and I’m working on a three- to five-year plan starting this year, is to give it a very different look and feel.”

Making sure that it looks good is one priority. “We are actually monitoring what products go into the halls. If someone calls me and wants to book a stand but their products really aren’t right then it’s very difficult but we have to decline. As soon as you get the wrong things in, the level of the show starts dropping.

“We have a process whereby every single exhibitor has to provide us with details on every single product that they want to bring on. We are monitoring everything.”

Another primary focus is the introduction of strong features and interest areas on the show floor. This will enable attendees to learn   in an environment that, in keeping with the target audience, is not overly formal.

“What we are doing is informal seminars on the show floor. All the topics will be based around research that we are doing with the visitors. I’ve taken on a research company to assess everything. They are calling all of our exhibitors and all of our visitors and asking what they liked and what they didn’t like last year.”

The show has sometimes suffered from an identity crisis of sorts, seemingly unsure whether it was a trade or consumer event. But Buchanan is firm about how it will be positioned moving forward.

“There was kind of a blurred line – was it a trade show, was it a consumer show? We are making it really clear that it is a trade show. It’s a show where people will come to make money and network with each other, in a business setting. It is a b-2-b event.”

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And Buchanan will be pulling out all the stops to ensure that real business is being facilitated. “The research company is tracking all of the top projects that are currently underway in the GCC.

“We are organising a VIP programme whereby we are inviting the key buyers and specifiers for the projects that are ongoing for the next several years.

“If a potential VIP says they are interested in certain types of products and certain types of exhibitors, we’ll get them to the event, we’ll put them in a VIP lounge, we’ll do product location for them, and we’ll actually take them around the show floor on very specific guided tours and introduce them to appropriate exhibitors.

“That way, the visitor gets to see exactly what they want to see and the exhibitor gets to see the right people. It’s about matching needs,” Buchanan explained.

The show’s greatest strength, its size (1,782 exhibitors participated last year) can also act as a weakness as it makes it difficult to navigate – an issue that Buchanan was quick to identify.

“It was really difficult to navigate as a visitor. Because we don’t sectorise yet – we may do in the future but we don’t yet – it was difficult. If someone wanted to come in and find lighting and carpeting, how would they do that?

“We’ve addressed that this year and our website will now enable a visitor to select what they want and give them a plan of where they need to go,” she said.

An inauspicious set of circumstances prevented the show from fulfilling its potential last year – something that will not be repeated, Buchanan insisted. “Any event organiser will book dates with the venue a couple of years in advance. Last year, Eidh fell within those dates and so did National Day. Either one on its own wouldn’t have caused an issue.

“What happened was unprecedented. This had never happened before and we could never have known. We have booked the dates for the next three years and they are not on any holidays.

“One thing I do want to add is, unfortunately because the holidays were announced and the credit crunch hit in October, there was a general fear anyway. There was a perception that the numbers would be down. In actual fact, they were actually only marginally down; the difference was minimal.”

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